>> this is the bbc world news america, reporting from washington, i am jana o'brien. pulling the plug on a major deal. rupert murdoch's news corporation ditches its bid for bskyb. mumbai under attack again. three explosions rocked india's financial capital, killing at least 21 people. and on at libya's front line, and to counter attack by colonel gaddafi's forces against rebels advancing on tripoli. >> you can hear it. ♪ >> welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and also a round the globe. the last few days have brought

in a credible reversal of fortune for rupert murdoch's media empire. today came another blow. public and political pressure, news corporation withdrew its bid for bskyb. it is another casualty of the hacking firestorm. now prime minister david cameron has announced details of a far- reaching inquiry into recent events. for more on how the deal went bust, here is the bbc business editor. a warning, there is some flash photography. >> rupert murdoch, the great news mogul, in the news for the wrong reasons. putting on a brave face before one of the great humiliations' of his career, the abandonment for his attempt to take over bskyb. here is the explosives didn't. we believe the proposed acquisition of bskyb by news corporation would benefit both companies, but it is too difficult to progress in this

climate. that adverse comment, protests outside parliament and inside about the bskyb deal. and after the deal was off -- >> i think this is the right decision. i have been selling this company clearly needs to sort out the problems and news international, at the "news of the world." that must be the priority, not take over speed of the right decision and the right decision for the country, too. >> it is the second massive setback for mr. murdoch. days ago he closed the "news of the world" because his reputation was so tarnished by the allegations. tended his ago, we found out about the alleged hacking of the phone of the murder teenager in the phone of the parent of a stone victim and the families of seven victims that had been invaded, along with other shocking revelations. >> this is a victory for people up and down this country who have been appalled by the revelations about phone hacking. it is beyond belief that mr.

murdoch could win this -- could expand his stake in the british media while this going on. >> rupert murdoch won a to increase its ownership of bskyb from 39% to 100%, because he would have had access to the vast amount of cash generated by the u.k.'s biggest tv business. in the past, bskyb's profits were around 1 billion pounds, which would have been useful to mr. murdoch at a time when his british newspapers have been struggling to maintain revenues. as for bskyb other shareholders, they have also paid a big prize from the failure of the takeover. bskyb's share prices falling around 20% over the past nine days. taking away almost 3 billion pounds from the value of the company. what has rupert murdoch lost? >> this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire 100% of the business which is extraordinarily good prospects, which has a growth trajectory which is well understood.

it would have substantially increased the size of the company from around 20% to 25%. >> we may think mr. murdoch is big in the u.k., but he is much bigger in the u.s. the worry for him is that u.s. senators are now on his days following the accusation that 9/11 victims and other families phones or hacked. >> if that is true and if there was any access to any of the victims records, then, you know, in my mind, it would probably be the most invasive and perverse information in's the final moments of their lives and a tremendous innovation to their families as well. >> 1989, the dawn of television's new age. >> mr. murdoch would see himself, rightly many would say, as the founder of bskyb. so to be told by politicians

that he shall not press ahead and then to do is they insisted, well, it is a setback as embarrassing as any in his decades as the pinnacle of the british media industry. bbc news. >> while the pressure continues to build in britain, as you have seen here in the united states, there are growing calls for investigations into the activities of news corporation. joining me is our washington correspondent. thank you for coming in. who is calling for this investigation, and what would be the focus? >> their two separate areas. it comes from congress, where interest has picked up suddenly. the first and most sensitive area is on the issue of whether or not there was an attempt by a news of the world reporter to hack into or obtain the information that might lead to the ability to hack into the voice mails of 9/11 victims. and various senators and one member of the house, who runs

the moment security committee, have called for investigations. he has written to the fbi, calling for an investigation. the second issue which is separate is whether or not the payments through allegedly made in britain by members of the "news of the world," employees of new corp., whether those payments actually breach the foreign corrupt practices act. america takes it very seriously, and whether not there will be criminal investigations there. and the sec and attorney general have been involved. >> 9/11, of course, is a particularly sensitive subject year. do you think of these allegations are true, we will see a similar sort of political and public backlash against new corp.? >> i think it will be a firestorm, but i think it will be one that is controllable, because new corp. will be able to say, look, this is desperately unfortunate, but this was effectively now a rogue

part of our organization that has been closed down, the "news of the world." and may even be that it is news international, they may well be spun off as well. >> what about the financial impact? people are watching that as well. >> the concern on wall street from analysts is one of uncertainty. that is what they do not like. these legal investigations, a possible criminal investigations create the kind of uncertainty that does affect share price. at the moment, however, there was a general sigh of relief about the way in which the bskyb and deale was dealt with in the vast pile of cash that news corporation is sitting on. >> thank you. in mumbai today, three coordinated bombings targeted india's busy financial capital, leaving at least 21 people dead and injuring more than 100. the blasts are the worst attack on the country since the 2008 siege.

our world affairs correspondent reports. >> it was the evening rush hour when the bombs went off. three of them within a quarter of an hour. all targeted at business locations at a busy time of the day. many people had been on their way home from work. one eyewitness said he saw two motorbikes explode in flames, and the injured screaming for help. well over 100 people were wounded in what president obama condemned as outrageous attacks. many have lost limbs. >> the blast occurred at about 6:45 p.m. within minutes of each other. therefore, we infer that this was a coordinated attack by terrorists. >> the first bomb went off at 6:54 p.m. at a jewelry market. a minute later, the opera house district was attacked.

and then at 7:05, a crowded neighborhood. it is the first major attack in mumbai since 2008. more than 160 people were killed in 60 hours of terror blamed on militants based in pakistan. these latest bombs have been described as relatively crude and possibly the work of local militants. whoever is behind them makes sure that india's city is still vulnerable. >> for more on today's violence, i spoke with the ambassador who formerly served as u.s. assistant secretary of state for south asian affairs. he is currently at the center for strategic and international studies. i started by asking who he thought could be behind the attacks. >> well, i know one thing, that mumbai, it is a very sad day for mumbai, the fourth attack in the last 10 years. this city has been attacked by terrorists on many occasions,

and this is the latest episode. it does not appear to be the same nature of attack that occurred in november of 2008, the suicide bombers that attacked in mumbai, killing 166 people that were tied to the l.e.t., a pakistani-based militant group. this appears to be more sporadic. it does not appear to be the same kind of attack. india has seen these before by a group called north dakota and mehanna hedin. it is an indigenous group. they have done these kind of attacks before. those that are looking at it, and it is still early, art pointing to that group, the indian mujahadeen. >> interesting. india did plame elements within pakistan on the previous attack. do you think it might be a coincidence in that these attacks happened just months after the peace talks between pakistan and india started? >> it is inconceivable to me that pakistan would have any

role in this. i say that because india and pakistan are now engaged in a dialogue. their foreign ministers are going to be meeting shortly. in july. there is also -- pakistan is facing multiple threats and crises internally. the recently had an outbreak of sectarian violence in karachi. we know how involved they are with what is going on in those things taking place in afghanistan. they also have the pakistani taliban attacking them. we're also the point of a new low in u.s.-pakistani relations. so the idea that pakistan would instigate a crisis with india at this point is inconceivable to me. >> what about indian intelligence-gathering and a security? there have been a number of threats, particularly since 2008. is this any reflection on the indian authorities competence in this area? >> there will be questioned about another attack in mumbai. again, four attacks in the last 10 years.

after 2008, there were major reviews within india about internal security, and in this case, there will be a very close examination of how quickly india responded. they have their national security guard deployed there. they have friends a unit on the scene. they need to hopefully -- they have forensic units on the scene. they need to hopefully see having that experience corrected in that beleaguered city. >> in other news, police and venezuela have regained control of a prison east of the capital after a standoff that lasted for 27 days. more than 800 inmates have not given up their weapons and left the el rodeo prison in minibuses. visn -- the venezuelan prisons are overcrowded and other have been a series of rights since the beginning of the year. the police in northern ireland say 16 officers were injured during last night's violence. the return to six arrests

following trouble in several towns. nationalists you the attack police at the end of the busiest day in the marching season. more than 600 senior police officers are being removed from their jobs in egypt. the government has been under pressure from protesters who say the men were responsible for the killing of hundreds of people during the uprising against former president mubarak. 18 police generals are among those being fired. colonel moammar gaddafi's days are numbered. that was the dow from u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton today. yet, in libya, five months of civil war sparked by the arab uprising have so far failed to topple the embattled leader. his forces have now begun a counterattack in western libya against rebels open to an advance on to the capital tripoli. the fighting in the mountains have seen their rebel movement lose and then it regain ground around the villages. our world affairs editor was caught in crossfire.

>> 6 in the morning in the mountains. spies have warned of a buildup of pro-gaddafi forces nearby. but these rebels are not trained soldiers. they're just a bunch of ill- equipped volunteers. hours passed and the gaddafi troops did not attack. the rebels relax. they hope it is a false alarm. 11:00 a.m., the front line, by now it is usually too hot for fighting. suddenly though, a lookout spots a column of enemy vehicles heading this way. there is going to be a battle after all. they're firing pretty close to here. you can hear it, just sheltering inside this building. out there, the gaddafi people on a shooting in our direction. you can hear bullets flying overhead from time to time, quite low. and this is one of the rebels positions, and they're just going to start firing off.

[shots fired] >> we need to go. >> keep rolling, keeps rolling. [yelling] >> keep going. everyone, down. >> that is the sound of a bullet torch, --- shrapnel hitting, but none of us is certain overhead, rabbit -- rocket-propelled grenades are exploding a reindeer. many of the rebels are in full panic flight now. soon, they come to a halt. fierce argument rages. some want to turn back and carry on fighting. others say they are outgunned

and short of ammunition. in the end, this group heads back in the hopes of stemming the pro-gaddafi advance. it is hard to think that tripoli is only 60 miles from here. it is another world. colonel gaddafi still has his supporters, mostly those who have done well out of the oil business. most ordinary people have been shut out of libya's oil wealth. a much feared secret police are everywhere, preventing an uprising. colonel gaddafi himself leads a hunted life and has nowhere else to go. he insists he will stay until the bitter end, and he seems to mean it. it is 6 in the evening here in the mountains. rebels of pulled themselves together and a stabilized the front line. but you can see why the revolution is taking so long. the rebel commanders are still confident that they will be in tripoli by early september.

john simpson, bbc news. >> you're watching bbc world news america. still to come on tonight's program, where hollywood and afghanistan to light. one u.s. marine posted his proposal to a famous actress online, and now he has the date of a lifetime. here in the u.s. today, federal reserve chairman ben bernanke said the central bank is prepared to provide additional stimulus that the current economic lull persist. but in china, the government has tried to slow the economy after a time of impressive growth. in the three months to june, it has expanded by 9.5%, prompting rate rises and restrictions on bank lending in an attempt to cool things down. here is the report from beijing. >> the figures were better than expected. the world's second-largest economy continues to grow at a remarkable rate. beijing is keen to deliver an upbeat message.

>> if you look to the recent situation and prospects of the near future, there's still a strong driving force behind the chinese economy. the possibility of the economy dropping sharply is very low. >> in the long term, some question the sustainability of china's economy. >> my belief is that beijing understands it, and that probably in the next two to three years, they are going to take steps to bring the dead growth down, which means bringing investment down. which also means bringing gdp growth rates down significantly. >> for these latest gdp figures, there will give beijing room to tackle inflation. currently is at a three-year high. food prices have risen by more than 10% in the last 12 months. in a country where millions spent more than half their income on food, high prices could trigger social unrest.

why does the house the chinese economy matter to the rest of the world? ever since the financial crisis, china has been the main driver of global growth. the fear is that if there was a substantial slowdown here, then it would be felt by economies around the world. bbc news, beijing. >> it is a long-running scandal which has tarnished the catholic church. today the irish government published a new report into the concealment of child abuse by priests. uncovering this series failings into how cases of abuse were dealt with, the report says the church cared more about its reputation than the welfare of children and that only three years ago, reports of abuse were still being kept from police. our ireland correspondent reports. >> he was the pope's right hand man. the father was not just personal secretary to john paul ii. but today, the retired bishop

stands accused of involvement in the irish catholic church is latest scandal. it was in his diocese that clerical child sex abuse took place but was not reported by the church to the police. and what happened as recently as three years ago, at a time when the irish catholic church was telling the world there would never be another cover-up. >> it is truly scandal is the people who presented the public face of concern continued to maintain a private agenda of concealment and evasion. >> after revelations about irish pedophile priest in the early 1990's, new guidelines were introduced to ensure all allegations were then reported to the police. but the rules were largely ignored. and for those who complained to the church about being abused as children, the lack of action left them feeling helpless. >> it literally feels like being

contaminated by a horrible disease. i feel as if i have really been touched by the devil, and that is something that nobody will ever fix for me, you know? >> after so many scandals in recent years, the catholic church in ireland is not only losing followers, but its special place in irish society. there is a sense of shame. >> i humbly apologize on my own behalf as the administration to the diocese and on behalf of the country, to all who suffered under to their families. i am appalled by the depth of damage and suffering. >> john retired as bishop last year. in a statement tonight, he admitted he could have done more to help some of victims of abuse and said he was sorry. bbc news. >> in afghanistan today, president karzai led thousands of mourners at the funeral of his half-brother. karzai wept openly during the

ceremony and appeal to his countrymen to stop the violence. from kabul, here is the report. >> it was an emotional moment for president hamid karzai. burying his half-brother a day after his shocking killing. ahmad wali karzai was laid to rest here, at his ancestral village in kandahar. afterwards, a plea from the president to those behind his death. >> my message for them is, my countrymen, my brothers, stop killing your own people. it is easy to kill, and everyone can do it. but the real man is the one you can save people's lives. >> the funeral drew many. top members of the afghan government, pashtun tribesmen, and ordinary citizens, all here for a last glimpse of one of afghanistan's most powerful men. and even at the funeral, a bomb targeted the governor of helmand as he made his way to

the ceremony. he escaped unhurt, but four policemen were injured. it is a grim reminder of the tense situation that is unfolding in the aftermath of mr. karzai's death. already questions are being raised on the manner in which he was killed and who could have carried it out. ahmad wali karzai was seen by many as someone who could come to the taliban, especially in a part of the country were the work really influential. it was the reason that nato chose him as a close ally, overlooking the serious allegations against senator by the end of the year, thousands of troops would have left afghanistan, handing over security to afghan forces. this killing leaves a vacuum in the south and comes at a really sensitive time. bbc news, kabul. >> now to a very different story from the war zone in afghanistan. the request of one u.s. marine grabbed worldwide attention when he asked a famous hollywood actress to accompany him to the

marine corps ball. now he has the date of a lifetime. here is the story. >> never mind different worlds, these two and have it different planets. his is a dusty checkpoint in afghanistan. hers, the glamour of hollywood. scott maurine to date to the ball, so -- newlin >> hello, mila. i did want to take a moment out of my day to invite you to the marine corps ball in greenville, north carolina, with yours truly. cruxes bold invitation was seen by 800,000 people on you could, but not by the actress herself. >> what? what's the marine corps posted a video invited you to go to the ball. >> do it for your country. >> what? >> a fellow bought chat show guest played matchmaker. >> you know it, man. i am going to work on this for you. he invited you to the marine corps ball. >> when is it? >> in november. >> november what?

>> i do not know. >> i will go. >> she is promoting her latest film with timber lake and now looks forward to a trip to north carolina, slopping the movies for the mess hall. she promised sgt moore she will not stand him up. >> we're going to make this happen, sir. " true showbiz style, people have already been in touch with his people. it is officially a day. bbc news. >> i think that is an extreme form of online dating. that brings us to the end of the broadcast. remember, you can get constant updates on our website at a to see what we're working on, make sure to check out our facebook page, facebook ... but/bbcworldnews. for all of us, thank you very much for watching and have a good night. ♪

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